ALL MOUNTAIN SKI THAT'S GOOD FOR SHORT TURNS, 80MM TO 85MM AND THAT'S *LIGHT* POSSIBLE???

I am looking for an all mountain ski that's good for quick and short turns, mainly skiing on the edge of the trail, going through some moguls and occasionally going through the woods if there's some powder. And sometimes do some intense short turn carving also.

Is it possible to find a good ski for these needs that is LIGHTWEIGHT???

I guess more or less a 65% trail 35% off trail.

I am an east coast skier and I don't go out when it's icy, but the real powder days are not that frequent.

I used to have a Salomon Scrambler Hot, 166cm, R15.6, and I loved it! I could do all that I mentioned above easily.

And the ski was LIGHT!! (to bad the ski got old…)

Yesterday I spent the day skiing on a pair Dynastar Outland 87 and I found the ski very heavy and it was very tiring to do short turns.

The ski just wants to do long turns. It's a bulldozer, very strong and powerful ski, great edge on ice, but it's not what I'm looking for.

Some people in ski shops say that a ski with an 87mm width will never be quick and won't be good for short turns...

Others have also said that I would not notice the extra weight of a ski….NOT TRUE!

Because, with my salomon scrambler hot, I used to be able to hop easily from a fluffy mogul to another and with the Outland 87 it was more demanding and more tiring.

SO…What do you think? Any ski recommendations?

I have found the atomic nomad blackeye ti, it seems good but it's HEAVY...

I think there are 3 things to consider:
* Quickness edge-to-edge: if you get wider, it wont be as quick edge-to-edge
* Swing weight (the feel when steering the skis): if you get longer skis, there will be more swing weight
* Bind weight: if you get a sturdy binding, it increases weight

I ski a Dynastar Outland 80pro and I think its not a very heavy ski. I wonder if there is such an increase

You need to think if you want a similar ski to the one you have or a completely different one (a complementary ski, if you will)

Another thing, is that some ski heavyness improves the performance in mixed snow (with the stiffness, it reduces deflection)

The lightest skis I've tried were the Outland 80 and a Volkl Kendo with Marker F12

I suppose very very very lightweight and with the bias on offpiste you've mentioned then I would say it points to some touring skis, like Cham High Mountain, Vokl. Or some special series, like the Volkl V-werks code or the new rossi all mountain that will have honeycomb tip like the Soul 7.

But I think you would benefit better from a regular all mountain ski, a bit shorter

The Bushwhacker is very good. Two skis that are even lighter are the Line "Flyte" and the Salomon Quest 90. Don't worry about the 90mm thing on the Sollie, it's graduated in width according to length and it's 90mm only in the longest size. (87-88mm in the short-middle sizes)

Given the OP's "light is right" mentality, consider skis sold as "touring" not just the alpine line. A lot of telemark and AT skiers like the Bushwhacker, suggested above - so you might look at skis that were meant for tele or AT skiers in the first place. The snow will not know what the marketing dept said, you can ski them at the resort just fine and sidecountry, that's what they're meant for.

Atomic Aspect: http://www.telemarkdown.com/store/atomic/13-atomic-aspect/ . I haven't skied this one but have it's big brother 95mm waist Drifter - good light all rounder; holds an edge really well but fun in trees and soft stiff. A little tip flap going mach speed on groomers is the only issue but that's part of the tradeoff with a light slightly rockered ski. And it's not unstable, just a little unnerving.

PS - For what it's worth I had two similar Scramblers for many years - one tele, one alpine - I think mine were the "Scrambler Custom", the flat version of the OPs "Scrambler Hot". So I've got a good guess what the OP is seeking and feel pretty comfortable suggesting these, especially the K2s and Atomic touring series; the Surface and BD's I threw in just b/c they seem similar in intent and construction.

Glad you like them! honestly I kinda of miss mine at least they never broke.

well I have a ton of skis.....

173cm Kastle MX83 (83mm wasit), great technical ski, not that awesome at blended short turns like hte bushwacker....

180cm Blizzard Brahmas(88mm) - great ski, like stiffer more crud worthy bushwacker, its got the same shape even does snappy short turns like the bushwacker, I jsut keep breaking it. Currently out of commision....

177cm Blizzard "the one"(98mm) a couple year old quicker turns, that use to be great on hardpack as well. my rock tree ski now

177cm Nordica Soul Rider (98mm) have not skied this yet, I am hoping it skis like mini Patron but I will get back to you today.....

185cm Nordica Patron (112mm) very fun wider all mountain ski, extremely grippy/turny on edge, good in bumps, awesome on groomers and in powder, medicore in crud unless its really lighter or extremely heavy and your on top anyways, the in between does not get along with the rocker profile of this ski.

right now I am sorely missing an 88mm ski, IMO this width does quite well around here. Going to see if blizzard warranties my Brahmas again, if not going to either buy a new brahma, or wait for the NRGY 90 from nordica to come out. I am also currently missing a real western style high speed open bowl crud ski. Going to be a Cochise or an El Capo for that.

BTW I think Jim was saying the Flite skis lighter, the bushwacker despite its light weight will work well even for expert who can patiencely wait for the edge to hook up, and not pivot the top part of the turn.

I don't mean to hijack this thread but, its a similar situation I am in, so I figured I would keep it going. As the op, I am also an East coast skier. I spend most of my time skiing in jersey as I am only 15 minutes from the mountain. The mountain is largely comprised of groomers and hardpack (ice). As of this writing,I am skiing a pair of 2010 Atomic Smoke Ti's (171cm) and a pair of K2 Sight Twin Tips (169cm) w/ Atomic FFG 12 bindings. I am a huge fan of the Smokes and a hater of the Sights. With all that out of the way, I to am looking for a ski that is in the 80's underfoot. I am a speed fanatic (not to the point of getting race oriented skis), love to carve and play in the park. I am not a crazy park guy, but I do like moderate jumps. My feeling is that the Smoke's hold their edge quite well and are very agile and quick. On the other hand the Sights are very unstable, chatters when cruising and in my opinion do not handle crud very well at all. I too was recommended the bushwacker by my local ski shop, but didn't think an 88mm underfoot would be good for the mountain I ski at. I also felt that the edge to edge wouldn't be as good as say the smoke. (I do understand that the smoke is narrower, however it is heavier).

I had been contemplating some other skis, but the lack of demos around here leaves me with suggestions and reviews.

-Blizzard Magnum TI 8.0 (179cm)

-Atomic Blackeye TI (181)

-Volkl RTM 84 - (176)

-Nordica Fire Arrow 84 Pro - (176)

Just touching on the Bushwackers for a moment, if I was to run with them, is there any reason to believe my Atomic FFG bindings wouldn't work. As long as I have them, I will use them.

Let me know what you think and any questions you might have. I have skied a number of other skis, but those were largely GS skis. The most notable was a Volkl Doggen twin tip that I felt was excellent for the type of conditions here in Jersey.